A new survey from Awaken Tax found that roughly one in five US crypto investors who filed or planned to file a tax extension received an incomplete Form 1099-DA or were unsure whether the document matched their trading records. The August survey of 1,000 US crypto investors highlights challenges during the first filing season for the Internal Revenue Service’s new digital asset reporting form.
1099-DA reporting creates cost-basis confusion. Brokers generally had to report gross proceeds from covered 2025 transactions, but most forms did not include the asset’s original purchase price. For example, a taxpayer who bought Bitcoin for $9,000 and sold it for $10,000 would see $10,000 in proceeds on the 1099-DA, while the $9,000 cost basis would have to be calculated separately. Chris Herbst of CountDeFi said gross proceeds can be many times an active trader’s actual gain because each sale is shown at full value without subtracting cost.
Sharon Yip of Crypto Tax Advisors said her firm found differences between clients’ 1099-DAs and transaction histories, including omitted 2025 trades and inconsistent cost basis data. One client had more than $300,000 in stablecoin trades, while the exchange’s 1099-DA listed less than $100,000 in total stablecoin proceeds.
Exchanges under scrutiny. Andrew Duca, founder of Awaken Tax, said some customers received forms late. He cited Kraken sending forms roughly two weeks before the April 15 deadline, with at least one 1099-DA containing no reported transaction information. IRS guidance says taxpayers should use their own records to report accurately, request corrections from issuers if needed, and not wait for a correction before filing.
Andrew Gordon of Digital Asset Tax Action said many tax software tools cannot import or reconcile the new form, forcing active traders to manually enter hundreds of transactions. He urged brokers to provide machine-readable files and complete histories with acquisition dates, purchase amounts, fees, and transfers.
Taxpayers who obtained an extension have until Oct. 15 to file their 2025 federal returns. For 2026 transactions, basis reporting becomes mandatory for certain covered assets bought and held in custodial broker accounts after 2025, while noncovered assets remain voluntary.
